Manchester City teammates Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma will go head-to-head in the San Siro on Sunday night.
Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma
Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma have struck up a close friendship at Manchester City
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It hasn't taken long for Gianluigi Donnarumma and Erling Haaland to develop a budding bromance as Manchester City teammates, but they will try and keep the smiles to a minimum when they face off for their countries tonight.
At least Donnarumma will, anyway. As captains of Italy and Norway respectively, they will come face-to-face before kick-off in the San Siro and Haaland, not exactly a shrinking violet at the tensest of times, will have every reason to crack a smile.
Norway's 4-1 win against Estonia on Thursday night means they only have to avoid a nine-goal defeat to Italy in Milan to book their place in next summer's World Cup. I think we can safely say that it's job done and a first World Cup appearance in 28 years beckons.
Haaland will still be desperate to find the back of the net against his new club teammate, even if the two have built on a friendship they had before Donnarumma's move to the Etihad.
"Aside from being a fantastic player, one of the best in the world if not the best in the world, he’s a fantastic person as well," Donnarumma said of Haaland.
"That’s what makes him better. I’ve got an incredible relationship with him, he immediately welcomed me."
Haaland has a mind-blowing 14 goals in seven games in World Cup qualifying, double the next best individually tally on the continent. Norway have won all seven games and will want to make it a perfect eight against an Italy side beaten 3-0 in Oslo in June. Gennaro Gattuso is starting to feel the pressure after two late goals avoided a humbling draw in Moldova this week.
It condemns Italy to another play-off and there will be tension next March, especially if they are beaten at home by Norway on Sunday night, leading to more soul-searching and more question marks for Gattuso, who replaced Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked after the first defeat to Norway.
The play-off format consists of a single-leg semi-final and a single-leg final, so there is no margin for error. Italy's failure to qualify for the previous two World Cups will make those fixtures a nerve-shredding occasion for the country.
Haaland's goals have propelled him to his first World Cup and he will want to leave his mark at the San Siro now. Donnarumma is a year older and plays for a country with a much bigger footballing pedigree, but like his friend, he has never played at a World Cup.
He was 15 the last time Italy made it to a World Cup, in 2014, and the prospect of the Azzurri missing three in a row is almost unthinkable. Especially as they have been champions of Europe in that time.
Donnarumma played a big part in that triumph at Wembley in 2021. He has since added a Champions League title to his CV. But an appearance at a World Cup is what's missing.
If Italy somehow conspire to make a mess of the play-offs again, then he will be 31 by the time the next World Cup comes around. He would likely have more than 100 Italy caps without playing in a World Cup.
More than most in that squad, he deserves to grace the biggest international stage, just as Haaland did with Norway. You can be sure Haaland will want to score past Donnarumma on Sunday night. Then he will be desperate that the goalkeeper books his own World Cup place next March.
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